Anti-skid devices of automatic kind have been known comparatively long time. The only model yet successfully marketed includes a pulley on which are arranged short pieces of chain. When the pulley is brought into contact with a vehicle wheel, the pulley is rotated and the chains are thrown in under the wheel. This type of anti-skid device requires however, a large amount of space for its mounting and stowage, which in turn means that one has not been able to use it in buses, where the need for it is as great as on trucks and lorries. The reason for this situation is that the air suspension used by most buses today also requires very much space, leaving insufficient space for the known device. In particular it is necessary for anti-skid devices of this kind to locate the stowed position of the pulley comparatively high above the ground, so that the chains do not touch the ground. The height is necessary because the chains, when the pulley is at the stowed position are suspended vertically down from the pulley. Apart from this problem the known devices are also provided with a space consuming mechanism providing the movement from the stowed resting position to the working position in contact with the vehicle wheel.